Monday, September 18, 2017

Persimmons

A few years back I picked up a crumbling stack of hilarious old issues of Ballyhoo Magazine from the 30's. Ballyhoo was pretty much the National Lampoon of its day, full of hilarious gags, stories, tons of great cartoon art, and fake ads, like this one for Persimmons Beds, Springs, & Mattresses. Unfortunately, this particular ad is in a million brittle pieces, pulled loose from its original issue (and found floating in a separate one) and it's possibly incomplete. But I've managed to salvage a few of the cutely illustrated panels, as well as a bit of the text that reads as follows:

"Sleeping LIKE THIS is the bunk-- lantern slides prove in convincing studies by bed specialists at Hot Springs. Sleeping "like a horse" has always been considered the ideal form of rest. Until now. Now it is known that nobody sleeps like a horse except horses and pony chorus girls. And besides, our investigators have proved that people who sleep like horses are troubled with nightmares which necessitates sleeping with a Colt under your pillow." Very funny stuff (Nov. '32.)

"Going style." I'd really like to insert those three panels into the funny pages every day, with different existential or surrealist dialog in word balloons. Kind of a girly mag version of David Lynch's Angriest Dog in the World.

About Me

(aka Steve Banes) Editor / co-editor of IDW's Chilling Archives of Horror Comic Books: ZOMBIES, RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES, DEVIL TALES, and MUMMIES, as well as co-host of the bi-monthly HAUNTED HORROR comic series and HAUNTED LOVE miniseries. (All image scans and photography by me from items found in my own personal collection-- except where noted.)